'Criminal Minds' Season 12 Spoilers: Show Goes On Without Thomas Gibson; Paget Brewster Is Back

"Criminal Minds" might not be the same anymore without Thomas Gibson, who played Hotch for 12 years. Gibson was fired from CBS hit show after an on-set altercation. ABC Studios confirmed that Thomas Gibson was dismissed over creative differences during the filming of an episode.

Thomas Gibson's thoughts about the issue were emotional and the fans were not happy after his dismissal. Gibson mentioned how much he loves "Criminal Minds" and working for twelve years on the show made him want to see it through until the end, however, that is not possible anymore, according to E! Online.

We stand beside one another-- through good, through bad-- because we’re family -Rossi #CriminalMinds pic.twitter.com/H2gq90WN5h

— Criminal Minds (@CrimMinds_CBS) November 17, 2016

Thomas Gibson also expressed his thoughts about his departure by saying thank you to the crew, writers, producers, and most importantly, the fans of "Criminal Minds." Gibson also confirmed the reason why he was dismissed, and it was due to creative differences between him and the producer of the show.

"Criminal Minds" must go on after Thomas Gibson's departure and now the story comes with changes including Hotch entering witness protection. Rossi (Joe Mantegna) reveals that one of the serial killers, Mr. Scratch (Bodhi Elfman) started stalking the son of Hotch and since he won't stop, Hotch and his son Jack had to enter the program.

Rossi broke the news about Hotch's "special assignment" with "We need to talk." This episode of "Criminal Minds" tackled Hotch's departure with a cover up for the investigation and for the protection of his son, Jack, according to People. Rossi also mentioned Hotch hasn't been away on special assignment and that a sacrifice has to be made.

That's not the only change of "Criminal Minds" as Paget Brewster who played Emily Prentiss before is back full time and now the new unit chief of BAU. Gibson's dismissal made Brewster a part of BAU team again as a series regular instead of a guest star. Adam Rodriguez has also joined the "Criminal Minds" cast and Aisha Tyler became a regular of the series.

It's not only Thomas Gibson who has departed from the show, Shear Moore also had to go due to family reasons. Moore departed due to wanting to focus on his family. Moore played as Derek Morgan for 11 seasons of "Criminal Minds" and was a series regular. "Criminal Minds" airs every Wednesday on CBS.